Light 44 Cast hunting load Questions

[PunchinPaper]

I'm hunting whitetail with a 92 carbine in 44mag this season with jacketed bullets.
I cast SWCs with RCBS 240 GC & Lyman 429421 Molds.
I normally use these with light loads of W231 and Unique for punchin paper and plinking. I have had great sucess hunting with 240gr Hornady XTPs....but I would like to use my home cast boolits to take game with my 92.
I know I can push either one of the bullets I cast pretty fast in the M92.
Realistically how fast do these loads need to be to poke a hole through a deer at distances of 25 to 75 yards. Would my 1000fps loads be to weak to for the task. I have no problem shooting even the hottest loads in the ole 44, but why waste the extra powder if its not needed.

 

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I would say that your 1000 fps load would be plenty adequate.

 

[PunchinPaper]

Thanks ICH.
That's what I was thinking myself.
I have a buddy that told me he droped a doe @90 yards with a 45 yellow boy with a cowboy load. But you know how hunting stories are sometime.

 

[dahermit]

I cast SWCs with RCBS 240 GC & Lyman 429421 Molds.

22 grains of Alliant 2400 behind those bullets is a traditional load for the 44 magnum. In a '92 action, it would be a lot faster than 1000 fps., and you would not need to concern yourself if they were fast enough.

...but why waste the extra powder if its not needed.

What should be of more importance; saving powder or assuring a humane death for the deer?

 

[Hook686]

22 grains of 2400 wil not assure a humane death for the deer.

 

[Sarge]

I know several folks who have kilt deer clean with the basic .45 Colt RNFP load, from typical 4 3/4" Colts and clones.

 

[PunchinPaper]

I'm sure a 45colt would do the trick with a well placed shot.
In my loading manuals some show 22grs of 2400 ok to use,but in some it's over max for a 240gr lead bullet.

 

[dahermit]

...92 carbine in 44mag...

Not a 45 Colt.

 

[shootniron]

I hunt with the .44mag using 9grs under a cast bullet at a little less than 1100fps, it shoots lights out for me and will completely penetrate a deer length wise out to 100yds. Also, this is my range load, have shot many of them.

 

[PawPaw]

My standard .44 magnum load is 19 grains of 2400 and a 240 cast semiwadcutter. That gives me 1345 fps from my 7.5" Ruger revolver. I've never shot a deer with it, but it rings the 100 yard gong with authority and many, many people have reported that it will dispatch deer cleanly and humanely. I have no reason to doubt those folks. Limit your shots to the range where you can absolutely hit the vital area and you should be fine.

 

[Scorch]

Reality check:
People nearly wiped out deer, elk, and pretty much every other edible animal in the lower 48 using rifles like 32-20, 44-40, 38-40, and 32-40. A 44-40 lobs a 220 gr bullet at just over 1,100 fps and has a reputation for just flat dropping them. I think your load will do just fine.

 

[Edward429451]

My standard .44 magnum load is 19 grains of 2400 and a 240 cast semiwadcutter. That gives me 1345 fps from my 7.5" Ruger revolver.

That is a good load. I use it myself in my 7.5" Ruger SBH and 7.5" RH also. It's great when results are repeatable!

(429421)
19.0 gr 2400 = 1344 fps/13 avg dev/49 es 7.5" Ruger SBH
19.0 gr 2400 = 1287 fps/14 avg dev/56 es 7.5" Ruger RH
18.0 gr 2400 = 1274 fps/19 avg dev/70 es 7.5" Ruger SBH

Below 18.0 grains was not enough pressure and gave erratic performance. Above 19.0 gr gave even better numbers, but I felt that it was un-needed and settled on 18 or 19 to save powder. Your rifle will likely give aproxx 150-200 fps faster than our handguns with these loads.

How big are your Deer? What part of the country are you in? A 240 gr bullet at 1000 fps will kill the Deer but probably wont shoot very well in a load that light with 2400. I'd feel a lot better with that 240 at 1250 to kill the Deer and shoot very well. Or look for a different powder to load you to 1000 fps.

 

[PunchinPaper]

I did go ahead and load mine to 19gr of 2400 under the 240SWC.
I haven't got to the range with them yet.
I hunt typical Texas whitetail, which normally run around 120 or so lbs.

 

[mikld]

Regardless of what powder/charge you decide on, try some dummy rounds first. The Lyman429421 won't feed in my Puma 92 when seated normally. I could have seated deeper and crimped over the forward band or used Special brass, but opted for the Ranch Dog 265 gr. RNFP for shooting in my Model 92 clone...

 

[soonershooter]

I have a Ruger 96/44 that I tried shooting the #429421 hard cast bullet through and had very poor results with accuracy. My barrel is a 1/20" twist so it was quick enough to stabilize the rather long bullet. The load was 22 gr. of H110 so it was not too warm. I concluded that though those loads shot well from my Super Redhawk, the additional velocity from the longer barrel caused the lead bullets to lose their grip on the rifling. When I tried coppper jacketed bullets, group size improved dramatically. Since you are considering a milder load, you might be OK. If not, then try copper jacketed bullets. Also, check the twist rate of your barrel to verify that it is fast enough to stabilize the #429421 bullet, which is longer than factory 240 gr. bullets. Some .44 mag. barrels are 1/38".

 

[PunchinPaper]

Thanks for the heads up on the 429421 guys.
I havent gotten around to experimenting with them in the 92 clone yet.
I have shot the RCBS240GC without any feeding issues.
I called the RCBS bullet a SWC in my first post ,but it's more like a RNFP or somthing.